Rescued
by Artisan-Noteworthy
Summary: In an alternate universe, Wesen are their animal counterparts. In the wild, a newborn Warren is found on the side of the road covered in show. Can he survive a long road to recovery, and will he ever be a truly wild creature again?
1. Chapter 1

James almost didn't stop.  
He almost didn't see the tiny, mewling, barely moving wolf pup almost buried in the snow.

He almost kept on driving.

But, somehow, by some miracle, James saw a small lump shift under a light layer of snow.  
_'Odd.'_ He thought as he eased the truck over to the side of the single, desolate road, only feet away from the movement. Nothing he'd ever seen moved like that.

He put the truck in park and stepped out of the warmth into the freezing air, and made his way over to the movement.  
As he drew nearer he began hearing a faint, soft churr he soon recognized as a baby calling.  
James hurried - a baby left alone in this near sub-zero weather wouldn't last long.

Sure enough, as he drew nearer, and the small lump came into view, he was able to pull the outline of a small pup.

He brushed the light layer of snow off it to get a better look. The pups' whines and calls became noticeably softer. He picked the tiny being up, cradling it in his arm, gently brushing the pups' head, and feeling along it's side.  
It was thin.  
And young.

This pup couldn't have been more than two months old, and he'd been out in the cold for about an hour - before the snow came down.  
Why did it's parents just leave it behind?

It was far too young to leave the den - it had to have been taken out and left here by the road.

He quickly walked back to the truck and closed the door behind him, turning the overhead light on.  
Finally able to look the pup over in the warmth of the truck, he saw more worrying signs. First of all, he rolled the quieting pup over and saw, most obviously, the pup was a he, and second his belly simply wasn't there.  
Wolf pups, like all babies, are naturally pudgy when they're young, and he simply wasn't. He hadn't nursed in quite some time.

The next thing James noticed was this pup began shivering more violently as his noises began to dwindle.  
The tiny pups' eyes were only just beginning to open. He shivered again, and James wrapped him in a small blanket, once more tucking the pup to his side. This poor, tiny creature was desperately clinging to life.

By the time he'd returned to the wildlife rescue the pup was barely moving, and had no longer been making noise.  
Once more he gently scooped up the creature, and carried him into the warm, safe main building.

Another co-worker - Roy - was already there.

"Getting in late today? That's not like you." He looked up from fixing himself another warm pot of coffee.  
"I had to make a life or death detour." James said, closing the front door and locking out the winter wind. "literally." He moved to his friend and coworker and pulled back a part of the blanket.

Roy gasped, and gently felt the young pups' head. "My, god! What happened?"  
"I don't know. He was beside the road, under snow. He must have been abandoned by his pack, either through desperation or illness."  
He placed the pup on the counter as Roy ran to get a hot pack, wrapping that in a blanket as well.  
"Here. Let's hope this helps." He tucked the warm bottle under the wolf pup. "What do we do?" he asked quietly.  
"What we always do. We'll help him as much as we can, in any way we can and hope for the best." James sat on a nearby chair, and gently rubbed the pups' back over the blanket.


	2. Ch 2: The Cosmos

James sat on one of the seats in the main room.  
It looked almost like something you would see in a house - a fireplace on one side, welcoming furniture and a small cofee table. One of the perks of having a multi-building wildlife rescue.

He carried the small, grey wolf pup over and gently wrapped it's tiny body in the blanket.  
The pup looked so sickly; thin, quiet, and eyes barely opened.  
"You poor thing. Who could do this to you? How could your mother abandon such a sweet thing?"  
He gently rubbed the top of the pups' head as Roy warmed up a bottle of wolf formula and filled the bottle.  
As he sat beside James on the couch they heard a jingle in the door - Max, one of the senior and the oldest 'Ranger' entered, shutting the door behind him.  
"Whew! It's getting cold out there!" He looked over at the two men. "What have you got there?"  
"An abandoned wolf pup. He was nearly frozen in the snow."  
Max walked over and looked the pup over. "Hmm. . . . He's not looking good."  
Roy handed James the bottle and showed it to the pup. "Here you go, little buddy."  
The pup squirmed his head away.  
"Come on, little guy; you need to drink something."

"You haven't named him?"  
"Not yet. We were more worried about warming him up and getting him some food first." James watched the pup contimnue to weakly fight him back.

"To be registerd here he will need a name."  
"I know but - " James felt the pup push the bottle away with his paw. "Come on, little one. We're trying to help you. Drink some." He spoke softly to the baby, who continued to struggle.  
"It appears you have your hands full with him. I'll fill out the forms to get him set up here while you try and get some milk in his belly."  
"Thanks." James barely looked up as the older man moved to the desk.

He knew Max meant well, but he was stuck in 'procedures' - everything had to be done in order, no exceptions.  
Yes, to be registered as a rescue, and being put into their data base would keep all info about this tiny being in order, but first they had to make sure the baby would even survive.

Should he live, any and all records would be kept inside his file - date found, condition he was in when brought in, any medical procedures or history. Anything that would happen or anything he would do was registered in the file system for future reference.

James understood all that would be important - IF the pup survived.  
It was all pointless if he didn't even make it. Order was needed, but perhaps the health of the newborn was more inportant than filling out the paperwork just yet.

And James had quite a struggle. The pup vehimently fought, as best his dwindiling strength would allow, with everything he was doing.  
"Come now, come on. Drink your fill. You need this." He let a small drop of the milk fall from the bottle and land on the pups' nose. He stopped squirming as much, and licked it off. Finally submiting to exhaustion, the pup drank, his paws held to the bottle.  
A very soft churring was heard from the small being that was held cradled in the humans' arm.

"There we are." James smiled watching the pup drink hungrilly.  
"And here we are." Max walked back over to them, holding up the papers. "Didn't take that long. And I hope you don't mind - I've sort of named him already."

James looked up. "Really?" The name of the pup was more important than the health of it? Sure they needed a name and ID number to keep track of him, but - now?  
"What is it?" Roy asked.  
" 'Cosmo.' "  
Roy raised an eyebrow. " 'Cosmo'? Really?"  
"Sure. It's different, and this pup certainly IS different! The colors alone, not to mention how you found him." Max looked proud of himself.

"It sure is a different name."  
James shot a look at Roy, who raised his hands and went to re heat the hot water bottle.

"Fine, just . .. was there a reason you came in today? I thought you were off until Sunday."  
"Hmm? Oh, I forgot the reccords I had to go over. Moving sure is turning out to be a pain."  
"I'm sure San Francisco will appreciate your work." James offered. And he truly believed it - it was Max that was his professor. Max had chosen him to work for the company, and it was a job he loved.

"They better!" Max laughed. "Anyway, I'll be off. If you need any help let me know."  
"Thanks, but I think I got this from here." James smiled.  
"Very well." Max took one more look at the pup. "Take care of him for me, will you?"  
"Of course." James looked at the pup still curled in his arms.  
Max smiled. "I was talking to Cosmo." WIth a short laugh he left.

James chuckled and lookeed at the pup. " 'Cosmo', though? It might just be me, but you don't seem like a 'Cosmo'."  
The pup only nursed.

"I don't suppose you already have a name, do you? Did your mother have a name for you?"  
Once again, the pup didn't even open his eyes.  
"I don't particularly care for 'Cosmo' - it doesn't suit you in the slightest."

The pup finished the bottle of milk and it began dribbiling out from around his mouth while he began 'chewing' the best he could.  
It was a typical puppy responce, and it wasn't unil James had begun wiping the extra milk for the pup's face that he had vomited it right back up.

"What happened?" James gently brushed the pups' face, cleaning the mess. The pup barely squirmed.  
"Is your belly not feeling well?" James gently rubbed the pups' belly with his fingers.  
"It's ok," James gently rubbed the pups' belly. "We'll wait a minute and try again. You need to get some of this in you."  
The pup made another baby grumble, but didn't move much.

Just as James began thinking he would make it, the pup couldn't even keep down milk. This was a worrying sign. The baby was scrawny - already trouble, but being left out in the cold and now showing signs of dehydration and a potential digestive problem may be the final nail in what would be a very tiny coffin.

As he said, a few minutes later James went back, warmed another bottle and tried again.  
Once more, the pup tried to fight it back, and once more James succeded in reminding the pup he wanted to eat.  
This time, the pup managed to keep the milk down. "There. Much better. That's my little trooper." He began gently rubbing the pups' belly with his thumb in easy circles.

James smiled. " 'Trooper.' That will be your name. You may be fighting for your life, but I know you can make it."

Trooper snuggled into the warmth of James' arms, falling asleep - finally having a full belly.


	3. Ch 3: A Little Hope

"Come on, little Trooper."  
James encouraged the small, malnourished pup to drink from the bottle once more. Trooper vehemently was against this, but eventually James had managed to get it into his mouth, and despite everything, Trooper began to drink.  
"There we are, That's better." James smiled. He'd found if he rubbed troopers' belly it sometimes helped keep the milk down.

It had been a full day since James had found Trooper beside the road.

"Did you find anything, Roy?" James asked as his friend and co worker entered the room carrying papers.  
"No. The bloodwork came back negative on all tests. As did the CAT scans and MRI. There doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong with him aside from the exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. Though it does appear like he has frost bite in his joints. It might make moving difficult and painful for him."

James and Roy looked at the small pup who was weakly nursing on the bottle of warm milk.  
James gently rubbed his stomach again.  
'This poor thing.' He sighed.

They watched Trooper drink as a thought entered James' mind.  
"Oh yeah! My sister and a few of her friends is going to be stopping by later."  
Roy looked up to him. "Lucy?"  
"Yeah."  
Roy shifted his glance. "I hope she's doing ok."  
"It sounds like she is. As best as can be."

A shift in Troopers' face slid the bottle from his mouth and he began making the soft calling noise of a baby wolf.  
The chirping alerted James and he quickly brought the bottle back to the pups' hungry mouth.  
Trooper instantly began nursing again, only stopping when the bottle was empty.

James continued rubbing the orphaned pup's belly until he laid his head down and fell asleep. James gently pet the top of Troopers' sleeping head with his fingers.

Hours passed as the baby slept. They both worried - he should not be sleeping for as long as he was.

Soon there was a knock at the door, Roy answered it as James couldn't move with the pup on his lap.  
"Hello, Roy." A kind but tired female voice was heard from the door way.  
"Hello, Lucy." He smiled back. "Brought some friends?"  
"Yes. This is Rebecca, Lisa and Claire."  
The women introduced themselves to Roy and he to them.  
The women came into the living area and saw James with the pup on his lap. He was quickly met with a round of 'can we touch him?'  
James nodded. "Yes, but only two fingers, gently with his fur, and one at a time."  
Throughout it all, Trooper barely moved. Lucy sat in one of the extra chairs watching her friends gently stoke the pups' back.

Lucy worried about the baby never really caring what anyone did to him. James moved his legs around, shifted how he was laying, but the pup barely reacted. Only rarely did he ever shift back into a comfortable pose.  
She watched the tiny pup in her brothers' arms. It wasn't moving, barely looked up when all the noisy women came in and didn't make noise.  
She sat beside him. "What's his name?"  
"Officially, on the papers, his name is Cosmo."  
" 'Cosmo'?"  
"Yeah. A coworker named him, then transferred. But we've been calling him Trooper because he's a little fighter. Every day he's been fighting for his life."  
"What are you doing with your fingers?" She'd noticed he was rubbing along his belly.  
"He can't always keep the milk down after he drinks. Even though we ran a full range of tests, CAT scans, MRI's, bloodwork, the whole lot - there doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong with him. We don't know why that happens."

She watched the grey and silver pup in her brothers' arms - it's eyes were barely open, and appeared exhausted.  
"His eyes! They're red!"  
"They always were. Another thing we don't understand. They seem to be his natural eye color."  
James pet the top of Troopers' head.

"You all came at a good time. We're just getting ready to feed him again."  
"Really?" Rebecca smiled.  
"Can we do it?" Claire scooted closer.

"I don't see why not, but I should warn you he sometimes can't keep the food down. He might vomit the food back up."  
The women made a disgusted look and backed away.

"I'll do it." Lucy offered.  
"He might throw up on you." Lisa looked at her from where she sat.  
"It doesn't bother me."  
"If you're sure, sis."  
Lucy nodded and was gently handed the pup wrapped in a blanket.

She settled Trooper in her arms, and James went to retrieve the milk.  
"Hello, Trooper." Lucy spoke softly to the tiny being. "I think we can understand each other better than anyone else. You've lost your mother. And I've lost my daughter." She stroked the pups' head with her thumb, similar to the movement his mother would have made while licking him. She felt his body relax at the touch.  
She smiled at this tiny baby without a mother, and struggled to think of any reason to abandon a helpless baby, vowing to never to do the same.

James came back a few minutes later carrying a filled bottle and what appeared to be an eyedropper.  
"We have to first get him to take this." He handed her the eye dropper. "He's so malnourished, we've had to give him vitamin supplements until he gains more weight. He doesn't like this, so he tends to struggle. Slip this as close to the back of his mouth as you can and squeeze the end."

Lucy turned her attention back down to the newborn and did so, easing the dropper to the back of his mouth. Trooper struggled a bit, not wanting to have to swallow it again.  
"I know it tastes bad, baby. But you have to swallow this." She spoke softly and calmly to him, and somehow it worked, he opened his mouth just far enough to get the dropper in his mouth. She squeezed the end and Trooper squirmed as the fluid went down his throat.

"There we go. That's done for now, now you can have your milk." She was handed the bottle from her brother and held it to his mouth.  
Trooper, once again, didn't want to drink, but Lucy relented, holding it under his nose. "Come on." She whispered, and he began nursing. "Good boy." Lucy curled her arm around him and rubbed his belly as he drank.

James watched the tiny Trooper nurse comfortably in his sisters' arms. "He's doing well with you."  
"We have a connection." She smiled.  
"How are you doing, Lucy?"  
She kept her attention on the baby in her arms. "Alright. Michael and I have been . . . we've been dealing with it."  
"It couldn't have been easy for you. Either of you. I'm so sorry about your daughter."  
She shrugged. "We haven't been agreeing on anything lately. But it's to be expected, I guess."

James watched his sister bottle feed the pup. A childless mother tending to a motherless this is what Lucy was meant for - to feel like she was needed. And Trooper definitely needed someone.  
After several, silent minutes, she spoke again. "Do you know why he's unresponsive?"  
"No. He seems ok in every other way."  
More silence. "Maybe he's lonely."  
"Perhaps."

"Is there any other babies around his age?"  
"None. Especially no wolves. We do have a young fox kit whos parents were shot by hunters, but we're afraid they would try and eat each other."

Lucy felt Trooper shiver, despite being in a blanket. "Poor thing. How are you still cold?"  
"We can't seem to keep his body temperature up."  
Lucy, surprisingly smiled. "I may have an idea for tomorrow."


	4. Ch 4 - Warmth

Lucy returned alone the next day to the rescue, carrying only a small gift bag.  
Once again, Michael was in a mood, and she figured she could take her mind off it by working on a little gift.

She knocked on the door and once more Roy opened it. "Hello again, Lucy." he smiled and stood aside letting her pass.  
"Hello, Roy." She smiled back.

Lucy saw that her brother was again trying to get the young pup to drink.  
For as exhausted as he was, Trooper was managing to fight him back.

Everyone jumped as he let out a sharp yelp, as if in pain, instantly James pulled back the bottle.  
Trooper now had the advantage.

"What was that?" Lucy asked moving closer.  
"I don't know. All I did was try and get this in his mouth."  
Lucy sat beside James and gently stoked the top of Troopers' head. "You ok, baby?"  
The pup made a soft churring sound and glanced over to her with semi-closed eyes.  
"HI, puppy!" She continued petting him for a while, before picking up the bag. "I made something for you!" Lucy reached in the bag and pulled out a small piece of clothes - it was a puppy onesie; baby blue with multi colored duckies printed on it. James smiled and helped his sister get the warm fleece wrap on his tiny body, using the Velcro to attach it under his belly. Troopers' soft fur frilled out from around the neck of the onesie, framing his face in fluff.

Lucy smiled at how well she made it to fit the tiny being, and pulled out another piece. This she put over his head, and tucked his ears into their own 'sleeves'. Once more she fastened the Velcro under his neck, causing more of his fluff to frame his own face.

It was complete with tiny baby booties to keep his paws warm.  
"There we are. He should be warmer now."  
Trooper wiggled around, Lucy propping him up on his feet. The baby ducky covered wolf pup raised his head, wobbling. This was a strange sensation to be completely wrapped in a fabric, and still be able to use his legs. He swayed back and forth on his tiny paws.

"I wish we knew what was going on with him." James sighed watching Trooper nurse from the bottle Lucy held.  
"Maybe he's lonely. Do you have any other puppies around him?"  
"No. I was taking care of him myself for days."

Shortly he fell over again having little strength.  
Lucy again picked up the bottle and convinced him to nurse. Somehow it was easier for her to get Trooper to drink than either James or Roy. They figured it was something to do with a 'motherly feel' to her.  
"He's such a sweet heart. And it looks like he's a little better than he was yesterday."

"We decided to introduce him to the fox kit - Maddie. I was wondering if you would help us keep an eye on them."  
"Absolutely!"

After Trooper finished his milk, James moved the large wooden box with a memory foam dog bed closer between them.  
"Alright. I'll go get the fox kit and be right back. You got Trooper?"  
"Yep." She held the wolf pup closer to her face and he turned to look at her. "You're a good boy, aren't you?"  
He made a soft yip and closed his eyes again.  
Footsteps behind her finally pulled her attention away from the sleepy pup in her arms.

Lucy turned to see James carrying a small, wiggling bundle of blanket in his own arms.  
He returned to his chair and gently un wrapped the shifting blanket to reveal a small reddish copper face.  
"Lucy, meet Maddie."  
The tiny fox kit looked around her, Lucy smiling at her.  
"HI, Maddie!" She looked at Trooper and gently nudged his face. "Trooper? Ready to meet a new friend?"  
He slowly raised his head.

"Let's bring them a little closer." James instructed as he moved Maddie nearer to the mid ground, Lucy bringing Trooper closer.  
Maddie the fox kit began making chirping noises at the only slightly larger Trooper.  
Hearing the noise, the blue and rainbow duckie covered wolf pup looked at her.

Seeing the new creature in front of him, Trooper began struggling to back up.  
"Oh, it's ok, Trooper!" Lucy held him to her. "It's ok."  
He tried to bury himself in her arms.  
"It's ok."

Interested in the new one, Maddie tried to move closer.  
"I think she wants to see him." James struggled to keep the constantly moving baby fox in his own arms.  
"She's more outgoing than he is."  
Lucy held Trooper out near enough to the eager fox to smell him. Trooper tried to squirm back, but when he discovered she wasn't going to hurt him, he tentatively reached out his neck to smell her.  
"There we go." James smiled as Troopers' tiny tail began slowly wagging.  
Maddie kept taking nips at Trooper's' ears, but he began mirroring the movement, taking nips back.  
Finally comfortable they were alright with each other, Maddie and Trooper were placed inside the box to play.

Once again Trooper was nervous about the new fox, but he moved towards her wobbling as he went.

Both he and Maddie nibbled on each others' ears, and Trooper quickly found out he liked to bite her nose. Soon they were playing together, Trooper wobbling after her as fast as his tiny legs would carry him.

"Look at him!" Lucy smiled. "I wouldn't believe this is the same pup I saw just yesterday!"  
"How'd you know he was lonely?" James asked his sister.  
"He look depressed. He was alone. There wasn't anything else like him. He was surrounded by a giant."  
James smiled as the two canids played as best they could, quickly tiring, and both he and Lucy were surprised to find Trooper curled up first, with Maddie curling up beside him and resting her face on his side.

"Well, I don't think I can separate them now."  
"I think it's better for them both."


End file.
